UFC 312 live blog: Dricus du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland 2

This is the UFC 312 live blog for Dricus du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland 2, the middleweight title rematch this Saturday in Sydney.

A former KSW welterweight champion, du Plessis (22-2) joined the UFC in 2020 and hasn’t looked back. After winning his first six fights in the promotion, “Stillknocks” earned a crack at then-middleweight champion Sean Strickland, taking the belt via contentious split decision at UFC 297 in January of 2024. Du Plessis then successfully defended his title with a fourth-round submission of two-time champion Israel Adesanya to cement himself as the top middleweight in the world.

Strickland (29-6) was an also-ran for much of his career, best known for his willingness to accept just about any fight on short notice. That all changed in 2023 when Strickland improbably strung together three wins, the last of which was a massive upset over Israel Adesanya to claim the middleweight title and cement Strickland’s place as Fight of the Year. He then dropped the belt to du Plessis in his first defense, and after winning a split decision over Paulo Costa, Strickland now has a chance to avenge that loss and become a two-time champion.

Check out the UFC 312 live blog for Dricus du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland 2 below.